Bromsgrove tech company gets £5m to help African farming

The UK technology company has been invested in by the Toyota group

Investment in a company's innovative batteries is a "shining example" of how backing British technology can have global benefit, the government says.

Bromsgrove-based Aceleron is developing special batteries for use in Africa, designed to help drive the economy in rural areas there.

It has secured £5m of funding for the programme from a range of investors.

Now Aceleron has sights set beyond its core market of Africa.

In the meantime, the plan is for all batteries there to be 100% reusable.

Investors said the deal showed "a huge step in the development of sustainable energy practices across the globe".

The firm was established in 2016 to enable a "future with reduced battery waste", said CEO and founder Dr Amrit Chandan.

While lithium-ion batteries were a popular type because of their light metal, he said, they were produced to be used and then thrown away.

Aceleron, however, has created its own version with adaptable mechanics, he added, allowing the company access to "recoverable energy" stored inside used items, in turn enabling a "circular" rather than "linear" platform where "we extract as much value out of them as we can".

The approach is being backed by investment partners including Mobility 54 Investment SAS - a branch of the Toyota group - and the Business Growth Fund.

Aceleron also has plans to pursue innovation for Europe and India.

Dr Chandan said operations began in Africa in 2021 to assemble "repurposed and reconditioned battery packs for use by local communities.

"The deal is hugely important to us, with the future potential for all batteries in Africa to be 100% reusable thanks to Aceleron's unique technology."

Vicky Ford, minister for Africa, said investment in Aceleron was a "shining example of how backing British technology can help unlock a sustainable future for all".